'One Man Star Wars Trilogy' @ Proctors, 1/22/09

By Michael Eck
Special to the Times Union
SCHENECTADY Charles Ross is a nerd. He’s a geek. He’s a loser.
None of this, by the way, is news to him.
Want proof? By the age of ten he’d seen the first “Star Wars” film (which Ross’ fellow travelers will point out was actually the fourth in the series, even though it came out first) over 400 times and committed virtually every line to memory.
Nerd. Geek. Loser.
What separates Ross from his nerd brethren is the fact that he turned his liability into landslide.
Ross is the creator and star of the “One-Man Star Wars Trilogy” which is on view at Proctors through Sunday.
As he pointed out after Thursday’s opening performance he’s just bought a house with the proceeds from touring the show for the past half dozen years.
And Ross is, if anything, a fan of truth in advertising.
It’s called “The One-Man Star Wars Trilogy” and that’s just what it is – sound effects and all.
Ross breathlessly and athletically races through all the landmark scenes from “Star Wars,” “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi.”
He apes Luke Skywalker as ably as he cops Han Solo. And he drops in punchlines and sight gags wherever he can, whether signifying Princess Leia by holding his hands like hair buns over his ears or flapping his arms together to make Jabba the Hut’s giant mouth.
Ross gives into his inner Robin Williams, but thankfully only a little bit. He stays focused even on the asides, and most improvisations are ninja quick and lead straight back to the action.
The first 20 minutes encompass the first film and they contain the gold. By the time he’s into “Empire” and “Jedi” he’s a bit winded and so are some the set-pieces, like Chewbacca’s roar and the ever-present humming of the theme music.
But still there are laughs to be found later on, and on Thursday Ross included the crowd more and more as he went along. He chatted with latecomers, apologized for “spitting on the front rows” and interviewed a 6-year-old about how old he was when the series began – “you were minus a lot,” he quipped.
The most engaging moments came after the show when Ross sat on the floor to briefly tell his own tale and the story of creating the “Trilogy.”
“Believe me when I tell you,” he said, “I did not intend for this to happen.”
At an hour’s playing time the second-half lag is not a deal-breaker, and “Trilogy” is quite entertaining, with one caveat.
If you’re not already a fan of the films you will be left scratching your head at all the fuss. You’ll also, believe it or not, be the one left feeling like a nerd .
ONE-MAN STAR WARS TRILOGY
Performance reviewed: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday
Where: GE Theatre, Proctors, 432 State Street, Schenectady
Running Time: 70 minutes
Continues: 7:30 p.m. Friday through Sunday; Matinees, 1:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Tickets: $25
Info: 346-6204;http://www.proctors.org